Meeting The King

Posted on Tue Jul 25th, 2023 @ 10:08pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Lieutenant Darru & Commander William Gerhard & Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Ensign Michael Sloan & Ensign Anne Marie "Ree" Beckett & Lieutenant JG Calanthe 'Cal' Diaz

Mission: Sojurn
Location: Relea
Timeline: Day 334
2878 words - 5.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth looked over the pilot's shoulder as the grand palace emerged from the misty waters of a frozen sea. The palace was a magnificent structure, with tall spires and intricately carved arches, all of which were now covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice. The palace walls were made of polished white marble that gleamed in the light of the icy sun that was very much setting thanks to their lateness. As Beth looked closer she realised that even the gardens that surrounded the palace were frozen over with snow and ice. Yet, in the midst of the frozen landscape, there are still fountains that spray water into the air, creating crystalline sculptures that reflect the light in a thousand different ways.

Despite the cold that she knew was outside the pod, there is a sense of warmth emanating from within the palace walls. As if the warmth of the people living there has melted the ice and snow that clinged to the palace's surface. It was a place of wonder and magic Beth decided as they finally landed next to the other pod and the bedraggled group finally got to their destination.

“We had a slight malfunction,” Beth said to the executive officer and his group as she counted everyone that had been invited to the event.

William gave Beth a raised eyebrow in response before nodding slightly. He was sure that there was an interesting story there, but this was not the setting to inquire about it. He wore his dress uniform under his parka and looked around to survey the two groups and take note of who would be joining them.

“No O'Connery?” Beth asked, confused, that she was sure that the woman was down for duty in the group as she had requested all of the comms department.

“Never showed up so we had to leave without her Captain,” Darru commented thinking it best to not draw attention to it.

William cleared his throat as he ran a finger around the stiff collar of his dress uniform. His fresh shave scratched against the fabric of his uniform, a testament to how often he wore his dress blues. “Ensign O’Connery was already on the planet enjoying shore leave,” he said in explanation for his fiancé’s absence.

Beth raised an eyebrow at the man but said nothing. That would be a discussion for another day but she was relieved that at least someone was enjoying themselves it just was not like the woman to miss something like this.

The response also earned a furrowed brow from Diaz, though she only partially registered the dubiously weak reason for Lexi absconding from official duty through the preoccupation of frantically rehearsing the formal greeting sequence she'd been learning for all day in preparation. By now, Calanthe was entirely resigned to the fact that humans attempting ceremonial Realian likely sounded like drowning whales but she'd once spent a summer learning the Xhosan alphabet; this was probably not vastly different.

"I'm glad you didn't leave me in the bowels of engineering," Michael stated. He tugged at his clothes a little, he had never felt comfortable in the Starfleet dress blues. Sloan stepped a little closer to Beth as he joined the group.

“Cannot go in there with all the technological wonders without someone who could make heads or tails of it all,” Beth commented shaking herself to get rid of the last remaining aches from the crash landing. “Chief you okay staying with the pod and engineers to check it over properly?” The Captain did not want a repeat of the incident.

Nish gave a salute at the request and then smiled, "It's what I'm here for ma'am." She wasn't really dressed for a very formal affair anyway. "Enjoy the meal, and see if they have a doggybag for your loyal pilots and engineers." It was a bit of an odd request to make of your Captain, and Nish barely even knew Beth closely. It was out before she could help herself. Something about the giddiness of the planet that brought out the worst of it in her.

Beth looked the woman over before she smiled and nodded. She could see the giddiness that the planet was making and could not at all help but incline her head in agreement or at least an attempt to bring home the requested item. “Everyone ready.” The captain asked checking everyone over again. It was the first time they were officially doing something formal like that as a team especially when the whole point of their original mission had been about something very similar they had not actually had the chance to do it.

Nodding, Michael gave pressed down his uniform one more time with his hands to make sure his dress blues were in good condition. "Ready as I'll ever be," he answered. Part of why he signed up to be in Armory was to avoid these kinds of situations, and Engineering made it even less likely to be called into state dinners. But, here he was.

Glad that the awkwardness of the moment covering for Lexi had caused, William took position behind the captain as he followed her towards the opening. He spotted the Ambassador and a few others waiting for them at the entrance to the great hall.

Diaz, still too swept up in her own last-minute preparations, silently handed the Captain the padd that listed all the formal responses to the anticipated exchange of welcome, which were at least thankfully rendered in the region standard and much easier to document phonetically.

It was odd to Avira that the Captain would ask them so explicitly if they were ready. Then again she was never asked to attend anything like this during her time in the Guard. The doctor straightened her Andorian formal wear and adjusted the rank pip on her collar. She wasn't in the Imperial uniform for nearly a year now but when asked to dress formally it had felt wrong to put on the Earth equivalent.

Beth turned to the Ambassador waiting and smiled as he led them inside. The entrance itself was a magnificent gateway, towering high above them and adorned with intricate carvings and luminescent crystals that shimmered in a myriad of vibrant colours. The architecture was both otherworldly and graceful, with flowing lines and unique patterns that reflected the artistic sensibilities that Beth had seen everywhere so far on Relea.

William was taken aback by the sheer size of the entrance as they approached. The structure had an almost cathedral appearance, though William had never seen many cathedrals back on Earth. The closest he could guess was some of the Nordic castles he had seen pictures of in his youth, though he had never visited any in person.

"They don't do half a job," Calanthe observed, her tone hushed. "How do you even make carvings that size?"

"Lasers?" Avira looked up at the carvings herself, there was similar work done with ice and crystals back on her home world but she had to admit that this was beyond the capabilities of the Andorians as well. Her antennae seemed to get a feel for the room as well as they entered, as they danced around on her head taking in the dimensions and acoustics. "Whatever they used, it looks beautiful."

Beckett looked the part in her dress uniform and her hair twisted up and pinned intricately (by someone else beforehand), but her eyes were wide and taking in everything with no small kernel of childlike joy. There really wasn't another reason why she was there other than the rest of the science department was busy and someone had to make sure that the food served was digestible for the crew and not somehow carrying some intricate chemical compound that would make everyone bald and cranky. She listened to the various questions of how the sculpting was done and voiced her own. "How amazing would it be if the material was chipped away like an ice sculpture. The thousands of hours of painstaking love and devotion. I mean, it was probably a laser, but it's really cool."

They approached the entrance, and Beth noticed a pair of colossal doors made from an unknown, iridescent material that looked far to heavy for the pair of guards that opened them. They open effortlessly, revealing a spacious chamber beyond. The doors themselves were etched with symbols of significance to the Realian culture, hinting at the rich heritage and history of the species. "Beautiful," Beth commented taking it all in.

Though she'd allowed herself to become distracted by the spectacle, Diaz tensed immediately as she stepped through the doors, the square set of her shoulders anticipating the one integral role she had to play in presenting the Captain and permitting the formal exchange to take place. Moving quietly to stand through her older counterpart, Cal lowered her voice and murmured, "Ready to knock their socks off, Captain?"

Beth nodded at the woman. The ambassador made the almost familiar clicking sound now and the doors of the grand hall swung open. Beth stood in awe for a moment before she pressed on with facing the illustrious royal family of the alien world that had taken them in and offered them safe heaven. Their ethereal presence was mesmerising, adorned in regal garments shimmering with otherworldly elegance that despite their smaller statue was nothing short of stunning.

As per the requirements laid out, as the Captain's appointed official marshal, Calanthe stepped forward first and almost missed the sound of her own boots striking against the cold floor as the thud of pulsing blood past her ears did its best to render her tongue-tied. With typical stubborn fortitude, the Lieutenant squared her shoulders, stopped where she'd been advised was appropriate, and cleared her throat. The greeting and introduction that followed, much-rehearsed, bypassed the translator entirely as was typical of aspects of the formal lexicon. Realians, for all their technological advancements, safe-guarded the important aspects of their culture fiercely. Confident she'd done the best she could, Cal bench forward from the shoulders as she'd been shown and stepped aside to allow Leroux to move up.

The air tingled with anticipation as Beth reached the king, queen and what had to be their daughter the princess. Beth opened her mouth and the other woman finished and recited the words that she had been practising all day. It was nice to be doing something familiar to her again. Languages came naturally to her, always had but the sounds sounded so foreign on their vocal cords.

King Reykjav the Sixth, High Majesty of the Releanian United Stars, had watched their guests approaching in the great hall with anticipation. The formal regalia he wore marked the importance of the occasion. Not only was it custom to dine with visitors during the Ice Festival, this species was new to their system. He had listened intently when his ambassador had briefed him on the curious new comers. As the one that appeared to be the leader of the visitors recited the customary greeting for the crown, he smiled as her words were translated into his own tongue quite seamlessly. He replied to the greeting with a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement. "The ice glistens with the joy of gracing us with your presence Leroux of the Atlantis. You honor us all with the respect you have shown for us, and we welcome you to this joyous of occasions. I am Reykjav, King of the Releanians. May I present Queen Ibis and Crown Princes Shetalh," the elder Releanian spoke in his native tongue.

“That was beautiful. You did so well for species that do not have the right vocal cords.” The princess said in earth standard. It sounded odd coming from her under all the regal outfit and surprised Beth for a moment.

“I appreciate the kind words your highness.” Beth responded. “Can I introduce some of my senior officers?”

"We would be honored to make the acquaintance of our honored guests for table," the King replied in the Earth language as he looked expectantly to the assembled group.

Beth nodded and turned first to William. “This is my executive officer - William Gerhard.”

William stepped forward and bowed towards the King and the other royals. "Your majesty, It is an honor to be invited to celebrate with you and your family," he said.

The king returned the gesture with a smile, "It is we who are the honored ones." He then looked expectantly to the female captain.

“Our Chief Engineer - Michael Sloan.” Beth was trying to go through her people that were closest first.

“Our Communication Chief and the person who has put so much effort into your language - Calanthe Diaz.” Beth touched her shoulder as she introduced the woman.

Calanthe inclined her head and spoke with uncharacteristic deference. "Your archivists have been very generous with their time and patience, High Majesty."

"I'm told that they have been fascinated by learning from your databases as well," the King said noting that she had spoken in their native tongue. "I must complement you on your mastery of our language, not many who visit are able to master it so quickly," he offered before turning again to the group.

Not normally one to be struck speechless, Diaz faltered at the praise, cheeks already flushed from the spike in adrenaline, and eventually opted for a quiet, formal thank you as the most appropriate response.

“Our scientists Darru and Anne Marie Beckett.” The pair's introduction stirred something in the princess as she noticed for the first time the difference in species more than the blue woman and the group. Well that was more than intriguing. She had never seen a crew from outer space crewed like that. They normally kept to themselves despite Relea being a hub.

“Last but no means least is our Chief medical officer Doctor Chiyaviraghlin zh'Kenarh.” Beth looked at the royal family as she finished introducing her group.

Avira took a moment to parse the fact that the Commander had just referred to her by her full formal name. It had been quite a long time since anyone had referred to her like that, let alone with such perfect diction. Once her mind caught up with the fact she gave a slight bow as she was instructed by the linguistics department. Her antennae refused to join in the bow and remained upright, bending backwards to compensate for the inclination of the head.

“You have at least three different species in your group?” Shetalh wondered pointing to Beth and then Darru and Avira.

Anne Marie raised a hand in a silent, shy little dip of the head from where she stood. She was trying terribly hard to stand primly still otherwise and not look around too much, but there was so very much to see. This was an actual court- even if it wasn't Earth standard Camelot- this was still the closest she'd ever seen fairytale finery and unearthly grace strewed around them. She grinned before realizing that she'd done so then quickly bit it back. Proper, Beckett, she reminded herself.

"We do. Earth Starfleet before we got lost had a exchange program going but these are all members of my crew," Beth assured the Releaians and the members of her crew who might have doubts about there place among the humans.

"We welcome you all to our world. Come, It is time for the feast," the King said as he turned and beckoned the group to join him at the table. The king strode along the length and took his customary seat at the head, The ornate chair resembled the Ice throne, upon which every Releaian monarch sat upon. Everyone waited for the King to sit first before they each took their own seats. The queen sat to his right as was her custom, and Captain Leroux, being the leader of her group, sat to his left. "I do hope that you've had a chance to sample some Releaian dishes before now captain," the king said as he looked to her.

"I did. I went to one of your food markets and it was amazing. You really do know how to cook here your highness." Beth assured easily. She might not have been as diplomatic a year ago as her Earth Starfleet Captain predecessor but she had quickly become just as adapt as them. "How about yourself have you had a chance to look through the datafiles we shared?" She wondered.

The king nodded, "I have seen them, but only when my daughter allows me. She is quite taken with your species and the tales of your voyage." He took a sip from his glass before looking back over at the human woman," I Must say, there was one thing that caught my eye when looking through your database. This 'Shakespeare', how was he so revered for someone with such a dim view of his world?"

Beth smiled and nodded. That made sense as she watched the Princess next to Calanthe talking away as the food started to be served.

It was going to be a good night in her opinion.